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Youth Hostels in Cologne (Germany)
by Drifter_2000
While I was living in Paris, I grew tired of the manic nature of the city- the litter, the noise and the endless crowds. I craved the organisation of the German city, with their clean streets, tranquil suburbs and cheap beer. Cologne was only 3 and a half hours from Paris's Gare du Nord on the Thalys train so I decided to pay it a ... visit.
I stayed in the Meininger hostel, as it's a well known chain and had dorms for knock-down prices (Euro11.50 when booked online). It's not a central location (even if the website claims it is!) and is a 20 minute walk from the central station, in the west of the city. You can take the tram too but as it involved changing I didn't see the point.
Arriving in the evening, I was given my room key to a 8-person dorm. Towels were also included in the price but breakfast was an additional Euro4 (I'll get to that later). The room was clean with an ensuite bathroom and was quite spacious with a mixture of bunks and single beds. Bizarrely, another guest had colonised one corner of it with boxes of his possessions, a travel fridge and piles of dirty laundry. The TV, situated right above his head was blaring out at full volume. Was he living here? He regarded me for a moment with suspicion as he chewed through a huge sandwich, as though I'd just walked into his living room. I went out to check out the city, hoping that he'd be asleep and TV off when I got back.
No such luck! I returned at midnight. Five other people were trying to sleep in their bunks while the TV still blared and the man was making a lot of noise himself. I confronted him about the noise but he wouldn't budge, claiming that he'd lived there for 3 weeks so the room was now his. The other roomies were either asleep or pretending to be. "Put corks in your ears" was his proposed solution. Luckily I had brought ear-plugs or it would have been a very long night.
The next day I was able to change rooms and had no more problems like this. While it's not the hostel's fault it did mean that my stay began on a sour note, and the hostel had clearly failed to deal with this man (who after all had probably paid them hundreds if not thousands of euros through his custom).
That morning, I took a very loud shower and moved some furniture around (for the benefit of my nocturnal room mate) before checking out the free breakfast. The choices were pretty meagre- cold meat, cheese, muesli and not much else. Oddly, the dining room was full of signs warning guests not to take food away with them, and that any 'stolen' items would be charged at Euro5 each. Why anyone would want to steal anything is beyond me. My advice- ditch the hostel breakfast then head to a nearby bakery or coffee shop for some real food (the Handwerk chain is great for cheap food on the go).
The hostel also had a 24-hour reception with internet terminals, a basement with kitchen and laundry facilities and a bar. The reception staff were very friendly- I ended up befriending some of them and we went to a few bars one evening. It certainly made up for the dormitory 'incident'. The kitchen is big enough that a few people can cook with getting in each other's way and I liked the relaxed nature of the bar. You simply go up to a fridge choose a bottle and take it to the barman who will open it for you. Euro1.80 for a beer made a nice difference from a certain French city I could mention.
Meininger is a clean and pleasant enough hostel. However, as with all hostels dormitories are a lottery and you never know who you'll end up with. I've never stayed in a dorm since, as I think it's worth the extra money to get a bit of privacy. The place also lacks character and I much prefer Berlin's range of slightly ramshackle but very friendly hostels. I'm sure Cologne has hostels that have a far more authentic German feel so next time I'm there I'll probably give the Meininger a miss.
A few key facts about Meininger Cologne:
Check in- from 3pm onwards
Check out- by 10am
Wi-fi- free in lobby, Euro3 per hour in room
Free luggage room and safety deposit boxes
Bed linen and towels included
Dorms from Euro11.50 per person per night
Private rooms from Euro33.50 per person per night (based on a twin room)
Closest tram stop- Rudolphplatz (0.25km)
Website- http://www.meininger-hotels.com/index.php?id=78&L=2
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Bunk (Brisbane, Australia)
by rackerss
Bunk is a big hostel in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Fortitude valley is about 10 minutes outside the city centre by car; I arrived on the Greyhound at the transit centre and expected a courtesy shuttle already there to meet the arrival (which was the case in most of the other hostels I'd stayed in), but I had to ... ring up so always take the number of the hostel with you. The shuttle didn't arrive for about 30 minutes, but I think this was just a mix up and is not usually the case. The driver said when he eventually arrived that he thought someone had already come.
Anyway, so the driver was really friendly, chatting the whole way and answering the questions I had about Brisbane. Check-in was easy and I got a bit of a tour of the hostel from the shuttle driver. My room was a pre-booked 6 bed dorm and it was really clean, tidy and modern. This is the only hostel I stayed in that had partitions and reading lights for the beds. This means you have a bit of added privacy as well as the option to read after everyone has gone to bed without disturbing them. The beds were really squeaky though. There's a separate toilet and shower in the rooms.
The kitchen is actually outside the building which is a bit of a pain when you wake up and want breakfast, but it's a big kitchen with plenty of equipment and plenty of sinks. If you want to eat out there's Birdy's right outside the hostel. It's a bar and restaurant and gets quite lively at night with lots of things to do - open mic nights and bingo were a couple of my favourites.
Fortitude valley itself has a train station connecting you to the centre of the city in two stops or it's a 25 minute walk. If I'm honest Brisbane hasn't got a whole lot going for it - it's nothing special and very similar to any other city. The Southbank Beach - an artificial beach on the river is the main attraction but when I was there the floods had destroyed it and it wasn't open to visitors. Sunpac stadium is home to the Queensland Reds and the Brisbane Broncos so if you fancy catching a game it's a great afternoon out.
But back to Fortitude Valley - the main hub of nightlife in Brisbane, but don't expect backpacker friendly prices! Most clubs charge about $15 entry at least and have strict-ish dress codes. Birdies was my favourite place for a drink, although I wasn't such a fan when I was trying to sleep and all I could here was the music.
There's an internet café in the hostel and a travel desk (Brisbane's great for visiting Australia Zoo if you're not going to Noosa) and the cheapest laundry I found in the whole of Australia. On the day I was due to get the Greyhound onto Noosa I asked at the reception about a shuttle to the station and the guy behind the desk just picked up his keys and drove me - the staff were so friendly. Bunk was great, but it's a shame Brisbane didn't wow me.
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